Annual food inflation rate in Kazakhstan decreased by the end of October
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A meeting on stabilisation of prices for socially important food products was held in the Government under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin, press service of the Ministry of Trade and Integration reports.
According to the Committee of Trade of the Ministry of Trade and Integration, last week there was a zero index of price growth for socially important food products in the country. Since the beginning of the year, the average index was 3.3 per cent.
«Over the past week, prices for flour, bread, buckwheat groats, sunflower and butter oil, beef, milk and cottage cheese remained stable. For 5 goods they decreased. Thus, cabbage and carrots fell in price by 1.3%, potatoes - by 0.7%, onions and sugar - by 0.5%», - informed the chairman of the Trade Committee Aidar Abildabekov.
At the same time, there is an increase in egg prices in 13 regions. Over 7 days, the average price of products rose by 1.3%. The Trade Committee proposes to implement a scheme that will stabilise prices. In particular, to contract these products directly from producers, ensuring supply to retail outlets.
According to the rules, regions can contract socially important goods up to 50% of the 3-month demand. For example, given the regions' demand for 382 million eggs, contracts have been concluded for only 103 million eggs (or 21.2%). As of today, no region is 100 per cent provided with these contracts, the Trade Committee said.
The Akimat of Mangistau region informed that prices for chicken eggs are increasing for consumers due to logistical issues. The region does not have its own poultry farms, so some products are imported from the Russian Federation. Serik Zhumangarin instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to work out the issue of supplying eggs from poultry farms in neighbouring regions.
The participants of the meeting dwelt separately on the situation regarding the supply of cheap grain for the production of social bread. According to the Trade Committee, 16 regions have worked out the issues of purchasing wheat from the Prodkorporatsiya's reserves. Export of grain and flour is carried out by 10 regions. Additional volumes were requested by Atyrau region, where 2,000 tonnes from the reserves of Prodkorporatsiya will be shipped by the end of the year on the instructions of Deputy Prime Minister.
The contracting of the necessary volumes has been secured for the main vegetable items. As Vice-Minister of Agriculture Yerbol Taszhurekov reported, in general for the off-season recommended volumes of carrots, onions and potatoes regions have fully reached the recommended volumes. According to the information of Astana Akimat, contracted volumes of cabbage will be brought to the recommended within two weeks.
«For October, food inflation in Kazakhstan in annual terms decreased by 1%. For two months in a row, the index of price growth for food products is lower than for non-food products and services. This is a good trend, we need to continue this work in order to maintain the achieved positions», - summarised the results of the meeting Serik Zhumangarin.
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Kazakh deputy criticizes performance in mechanical engineering sector despite funding infusion
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285 billion tenge has been allocated to the mechanical engineering sector from different sources (the Development Bank, Industrial Development Fund, KazakhExport) over the past three years. In 2023, 13 thousand vehicles were made using the small node assembly method in 2023, which is a 9.7% of the overall vehicles produced last year. It is expected that the figure will rise to 64% by 2027, said Majilis deputy Nurtai Sabilyanov, while noting the low performance rate given the support provided by the state.
The deputy stated that many industrial companies acquire vehicles and equipment only (780 projects or 49.5%) with the support received from the Industrial Development Fund, which has nothing to do with the development of the industrial sector.
Moreover, according to the industry review of the National Bank, a weighted average capacity utilization in the manufacturing industry stood at a mere 51.1% in the fourth quarter of 2023. This raises a question of whether annual capital infusions in new projects are reasonable, said the deputy.
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Kazakhstan recovers 40bln tenge of illegally acquired assets
Images | primeminister.kz
Today was held a regular meeting of the Commission on the return to the state of illegally acquired assets under the chairmanship of Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, primeminister.kz reports.
The Commission approved agreements on the voluntary return of illegally acquired assets to the state for a total amount of more than 40 billion tenge, of which more than 38 billion is cash, as well as a business centre in Astana worth 2 billion tenge. The returned funds will be used for social purposes, including the elimination of the consequences of floods.
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The work on the return of assets is a direct realisation of the policy of the Head of State on the restoration of social justice. All returned funds are used for the benefit of the people of Kazakhstan," Olzhas Bektenov emphasised.
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Kazakhstan turns to high-value added manufacturing with building polyethylene plant it Atyrau region
Images | primeminister.kz
Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov met with the heads of the world's largest oil and gas chemical companies – President of China Petrochemical Corporation (SINOPEC) Zhao Dong and Chairman of the Board of SIBUR LLC Mikhail Karisalovб primeminister.kz reports.
The key issue is the joint construction of the first integrated gas chemical complex for polyethylene production at a cost of about $7.7 billion and a capacity of 1.25 million tonnes per year, which will account for 1% of the world's total capacity.
A tripartite protocol was signed during the meeting, officially finalising SINOPEC's entry into the project. The ownership structure of the plant is as follows: KazMunayGas 40%, SINOPEC 30%, SIBUR 30%.
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A gas separation complex (GSC) will be built at the Tengiz field to supply the "Polyethylene" project with feedstock (ethane). The capacity of the GSC is 9.1 billion m3 of dry gas processing per year, of which 1.6 million tonnes of ethane is expected to be produced.
Ethane will be sent through the main pipeline from Tengiz to the Karabatan site (territory of FEZ NINT, Atyrau region), where the polyethylene plant will operate.
It is planned to produce about 22 grades of polyethylene using American licence technologies of Chevron Phillips and Univation, 40% of which will be premium grade. A wide range of applications for both industrial and household purposes makes polyethylene the most popular polymer in the world.
Polyethylene is used in the fields of medicine, prosthetics, defence, food industry, construction, space industry and others. This polymer is used in the production of a wide range of goods: from plastic wear-resistant pipes, construction materials, medicines, syringes, prostheses to bulletproof vests, clothing for astronauts and car parts. Target markets include Kazakhstan, CIS countries, China, Turkey and European countries. At the same time, for domestic consumption, the realisation price will be lower than the import price.
The Head of State has identified deep processing of hydrocarbons as one of the key areas of development of the oil and gas sector. The priority for our economy is high conversion production producing products with a rapid increase in added value in the technological chain with an export orientation. The added value between the initial feedstock ethane and the third conversion product polyethylene increases 20 times, from $80-90 to $1600-1800 per tonne. The Polyethylene project will certainly give a serious impetus to the development of both the manufacturing industry and the country's economy as a whole. According to experts' calculations, the contribution to the country's GDP by 2030 from the implementation of the project is estimated at approximately 1.2%," Olzhas Bektenov said.
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It was noted that the project is realised with the support of the Government. The plant will be built on the territory of a special economic zone with the provision of appropriate infrastructure and special tax regime. In this regard, Prime Minister emphasised the attention of the project participants to the need to maximise the use of local potential.
We on the part of the state provide comprehensive support in the implementation of projects important for the country's economy. At the same time, we expect you to increase the share of local content. For this purpose, it is necessary to determine the list of goods and equipment that will be mandatorily purchased from domestic producers. Special attention should be paid to training of Kazakhstani specialists and transfer of competences. It is important for us to maximise the attraction of local personnel, including for management positions in the project. We count on a similar approach in the implementation of other joint projects," Prime Minister emphasised.
Thus, in addition to the plant "Polyethylene" it is planned to build a gas separation complex and a trunk pipeline.
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